A year on, Royal Oak's potential sale gets a local touch from agent who's a customer, too

YEAR after first tentatively putting their beloved pub on the market, the owners of the Royal Oak in Ockbrook have now entrusted the sale to a local estate agent.

- COLSTON CRAWFORD

Alistair Ruddle, who lives in the village and runs the successful Borrowash-based Everington & Ruddle agency, is a regular in the pub himself and hopes now to bring a personal touch to the sale.

Crucially, he is as committed to the Royal Oak remaining a pub as are the longstanding owners, sisters Jean Hornbuckle and Sally Parrott, who run the pub alongside Jean's husband, Steve.

The much-loved pub has been in the same family for 72 years, at first under the tenancy, then ownership, of Jean and Lew Wilson and, in later years, their daughters.

The reason for their wish to sell is straightforward - they are ready to retire after giving their entire working lives to looking after the pub.

Initially, the proposed sale was almost a secret. Under the first agency used, the pub was not named but described somewhat cryptically and even misleadingly as “nestled in the heart of Derby.”